Bicycles, Coffee & Miscellany

4 days of debauchery

Got away to the beach in Rehoboth for a few days. A little riding, a little reading, a little eating, played some video games, bought some Def Leppard t-shirts… It was nice to get away for a little bit. About the only thing I did not get was fresh coffee, but I’ll probably get a chance to roast some this afternoon for the weekend, so no problem.

Early morning, the only time to be…

vegetarians’ dream come true at the beach… mmmmmm.

In one of my morning rides, I finally found where the Junction & Breakwater trail starts. I tried finding it from the north by way of Lewes a few years ago to no avail. I looked for the starting point from the south this time. After riding around nearly every side street in every development for half an hour, I finally found it. It’s as if the neighborhood coalitions near the trail entrance said, “Look, if you want to put it here, that’s fine, but I don’t want anyone other than locals and tourists with LOTS of initiative using it…”. There was a parking lot for the J&B trail by the outlets, but I didn’t want to start there. I thought it would be cheating.

Here is probably the most scenic view from the trail along one of its bridges…

The trail terminates at the north in an expensive-looking-half-finished development off of Gills Neck rd.. Like I said before, I don’t know if it was secrecy, or they just ran out of money for signs before they finished, but it was impossible to find. 2 years ago, I turned around right where that manhole cover is in the picture below without even seeing the entrance to the trail (which is to the right, between the trees looking back from whence I took this photo).

All in all, it was a nice thru-trail between Rehoboth and Lewes that would beat riding along rte.1 if you were going north towards the Ferry or Cape Henlopen State Park, but I wouldn’t ride to it as a destination. There are far more interesting places to go in the area, and critical mass for bikes at the beach is high enough that cars’ll give you a little elbow room when they pass, so enjoy all the roads. I packed light in the bicycle department (more on this in a separate post), so without a spare tube and tools, I wanted to stay in the local area. I still managed to get in just below 50 miles without ever getting more than 5 away from ‘base camp’. Like I said, there’s lots of little nooks and crannies to explore in the area. One of the best rides I had for the week was the day I set out and stumbled on the Gordon Pond trail at the south entrance to Cape Henlopen S.P. right as it was opening up. There was a ton of wildlife, little colorful birds and such flitting around. I even saw a fawn cutting across the trail who stopped to check me out for 10 seconds or so. Even though it was only a mile or so of rideable trails out to the observation tower, it was some of my favorite. Cruising along the boardwalk for a few blocks is nice too, but you have to get out early or the peoples are everywhere. I had company on Wednesday morning.

My wife made me “promise” I would not run into the family ahead of me while I took this photo, so enjoy the fruits of my risking life and limb…

Glad I weighed in before I went to the beach, because I was no saint while I was there. My father-in-law and I stopped by Dogfish Head brewery for a few hours one day. I won’t bore you with descriptions of the beers which you can read a decent summary of on their site, but I will say try the Chicory Stout while it’s in season if you get a chance. For those who like a ‘punch you in the face’ strong taste, try the Palo Santo Marron. It had a really nice finish, but half a sampler glass was enough for me. I know that isn’t very technical of a description but I gave you the link, so read away!

Beach reading consisted of One Man’s Wilderness, which is Walden, but lived by a tough-as-nails retired diesel mechanic at Twin Lakes, Alaska. I had just finished reading Walden again about a month ago, and this book was a very nice complement, such that the message was rather similar, but with more authenticity and less Harvard preaching. Hating on Thoreau could invite some negative comments, but a better explanation ‘ll just have to wait for another post too. I got a chance to take an extended glance at the latest issue of Make: magazine in my down time, which is always fun and (almost) never practical. They had plans to make a bike repair stand from galvanized pipe, but the raw materials were over $30 alone, so given the amazing convenience and portability of my ‘Ultimate’, I’d say, wait for a sale and spend the cash.

Now it’s back to work, studies, and eatin’ bran flakes. Hoo-HA.

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2 thoughts on “4 days of debauchery”

Dang that sounds like fun! DFH’s Chicory Stout is freakin amazing. Some guys told it was “seasonal” in Maryland last year, but I’m hoping for a wider release like two years ago. I kept hearing rumors that DFH was going to put a brewpub in Harborplace? That would have been, wow. 🙂